Princess Masako

The tragic true story of Japan's Crown Princess-with a new afterword by the author. It's the fantasy of many young women: marry a handsome prince, move into a luxurious palace, and live happily ever after. But that's not how it turned out for Masako Owada. Ben Hills's fascinating portrait of Princess Masako and the Chrysanthemum Throne draws on research in Tokyo and rural Japan, at Oxford and Harvard, and from more than sixty interviews with Japanese, American, British, and Australian sources-many of whom have never spoken publicly before-shedding light on the royal family's darkest secrets, secrets that can never be openly discussed in Japan because of the reverence in which the emperor and his family are held. But most of all, this is a story about a love affair that went tragically wrong. The paperback edition will contain a new afterword by the author, discussing the impact this book had in Japan, where it was banned.

A portrait of Princess Masako, the Harvard- and Oxford-educated woman who sacrificed her career as a diplomat to marry Crown Prince Naruhito, offers a look into the mysterious world of Japan's imperial family.

This dramatic portrayal of a modern-day oriental fairytale turned on its head details how Masako Owada struggles with the daily pressures of life in Japan's imperial court. Despite an Oxford and Harvard education, she has been subjected to the superstitious rites of the Royal Household Agency in the hope that she will produce a male heir and prevent the world's oldest dynasty from dying out.

Reared in a palace and educated at Gakushuin, the elite Peers School, Princess Masako was elegant, refined, and proper in all things royal and Japanese. She was also stunningly beautiful. It was therefore only natural that she was being groomed to be betrothed to a princeno less than Crown Prince Hirohito, the future Emperor of Japan. The rulers of the newly emerging Empire of the Sun, however, decided to offer the beautiful princess as a sacrifice on the altar of Japans imperialism. She, they conspired, must marry Yi Eun, the crown prince of Koreas Joseon Kingdom, whose national independence they were strangulating with their conquest ambition. As Korea was forced to become a part of Japan, so was Masako forced to become a part of Korea in order to symbolize the union of the two nations in mortal conflict. Like a fish in a net or a bird in a snare, Princess Masako turned and twisted to live, to be free, and to be happy. Painfully aware that events in her life were beyond her control, however, she decided to accept her destiny. Even so, the imposed destiny would not control her, for she decided to become a heroine, not a victim of her misfortunes, driven by her passion for love, life, and happiness. Masakos story is about the human spirit empowering a victim of misfortunes and an unwanted destiny to become a hero, transforming adversity into patches of paradise as beautiful as the rainbow.

The tragic, true story of Japan's Crown Princess. "There are two families in Japan which you can never leave - The Yakuza (crime gangs) and the royal family..." Diana, Princess of Wales, had it easy compared with another lonely princess, Crown Princess Masako of Japan. A thoroughly modern woman in collision with an ancient and unreformed system, Masako is a brilliant woman who sacrificed her career to marry a love-struck royal, Crown Prince Naruhito. Ben Hills' 'Princess Masako' steals a fascinating look behind the Chrysanthemum Curtain' into the arcane world of the Japanese royal family. This dramatic portrayal of a modern-day oriental fairytale turned on its head details how Masako Owada struggles with the daily pressures of life in Japan's imperial court. Despite an Oxford and Harvard education, she has been subjected to the superstitious rites of the Royal Household Agency in the hope that she will produce a male heir and prevent the world's oldest dynasty from dying out; must address her husband as 'Mr East Wing'; and bow at 60 degrees to her parents-in-law. With every move monitored closely by an overbearing bureaucracy behind the walls of a palace modelled on Versailles, where her few officially sanctioned pastimes include writing sonnets, Masako's figure radiates despair as she tries to forge a modern life within the tightly controlled realm of the palace. Japan's royal dynasty, the world's oldest with a 2600-year history faces an uncertain future if Masako and her Crown Prince Naruhito cannot produce a male child - but, after thirteen years of marriage, both are in their forties and have only a daughter, little Aiko, reportedly born with the help of IVF. Inevitably, the strain has had an enormous impact on Masako. She is plagued with illnesses of all kinds, although the royal palace will not admit it. There have also been whispers that the marriage is not 100 per cent happy, though no royal has ever divorced in Japan's history. Others say the prince may renounce the throne for love - leaving the crown to his brother, Prince Akishino. The Emperor struggles with cancer, and the imperial system is in crisis. Ben Hills' fascinating portrait of Masako and the Chrysanthemum Throne draws on more than a year of research in Tokyo and rural Japan, Oxford, Harvard, Sydney and Melbourne and more than 60 interviews with Australian, Japanese, American and English sources - Masako's and Naruhito's friends, teachers and former colleagues - many of whom have never spoken publicly before, shedding light on the Royal family's darkest secrets, secrets that can never be publicly discussed in Japan due to the reverence in which the Emperor and his family are held. Why did Kunaicho, the powerful bureaucrats of the Imperial Household Agency, oppose the marriage? Who are the faceless figures who persuaded Masako to give up her career and marry the prince? What is the real reason Masako had to abandon her studies at Oxford? Why does the throne refuse to discuss whether IVF was used to help the couple conceive their child? Why does it refuse to acknowledge Masako's illness, so evident to outsiders? What does the future hold for the star-crossed couple - and now with the birth of baby Prince Hisahito (son of Naruhito's brother Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko) is the Royal Family still in crisis?

This inside look at real-life princesses will explore the true and often inspiring stories behind happily ever after. A deep dive into the royal world of a princess! Featuring princesses from around the world and all of time. The Real Princess Diaries explores everything it means to be royal. Each spread includes portraits of the princesses, in-depth bios, crowning achievements, and family trees. Learn which princesses have official royal duties, and which ones simply reign. Plus bonus sidebars about ladies in waiting, the crowned jewels, royal outfits, and princes, this will be the definitive royal guide. Full-color photos, with a modern layout make this a must read for princess fans everywhere.

This book addresses the relationships between fashion, women and power. One of the constants within the book is to question the enduring relationship between women and dress and how these inform and articulate the ways in which women remain represented as either suitable or not for public office and their behaviour is informed through dress when they are in power. The book critiques the interplays between politics, power, class, race and expectation in relation to the everyday practice of getting dress and the more performative and symbolic function of dress as embodiment. As never before, women are in positions of political power, and find themselves facing the maelstroms of mass media regarding their fashion, their deportment, and their right to govern. The contributors offer a wide set of perspectives on women and their roles, and their fashions when taking up powerful positions in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. From the United Kingdom, the historical issues surrounding the movement towards ‘rational dress’ for women seeking their rights to vote and exercise are interrogated. The volume also explores viewpoints from East Asia, such as the constricting role for ‘common’ women upon entering the Imperial family in Japan. From the United States come the troublesome media stories engulfing two significant American Democratic First Ladies, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Michelle Obama. From New Zealand, the media reports on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern upon her motherhood while serving in the office and on her clothing during the 2019 Christchurch massacre comprise a much-needed contribution to the literature on women, politics and dress. Further, the role of dress in politics broadly as a form of resistance, will be examined in Australia from recent skirmishes over ‘appropriate dress’ with ex-prime minister Julia Gillard and other Australian female politicians. The role of women and what their fashion selections mean continues via considerable debate during worldwide events. Finally, the theme of resistance and social media continues with an examination of protest dressing in the recent street battles in Hong Kong to how young Asian women have been influenced by the social media campaigns to encourage wearing the veil in Indonesia, to Asian women negotiating femininity in political dress. Primary readership will be among researchers, scholars, educators and students in the fields of fashion, dress studies, women and gender studies and media and history. It will be of particular value as at graduate level and as a supplementary resource. There may be some general appeal to those with an interest in the women or cultures at the centre of the discussions.